NATIONAL SOCIETY OF BLACK ENGINEERS
READY, SET, GO!! A BOLD BUT BALANCED STRATEGIC DIRECTION
Opportunity In the Crisis The Chinese characters for Crisis ( 危机 ) embody both danger and opportunity. For well-prepared
Black Engineers and diverse STEM professionals all of these environmental uncertainties (i.e. the global COVID-19 pandemic and the nation's ongoing confrontation with systemic racism) may collide into unprecedented opportunity. Mainly, because at the heart of the desperately needed medical, environmental and social innovation are all the things engineers do best - solve problems, design solutions and build futures.
At its best, the engineering mindset focuses on blending creativity, method, imagination and a unique set of skills to transform problems into just-in-time, real-world innovation. 2020 has opened a new era that may be best characterized as a time of dramatic, accelerated change. Black engineers will be called upon to use their creative imagination to confront, tackle and solve a whole range of novel technical and adaptive challenges. In many instances, real lives and community well-being will hang in the balance. Paradox: Strategic Planning Amidst Disruption The Leadership of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) recognizes that despite the uncertainty, disruption, and chaos happening around us, a focus on defining a clear strategic direction is even more critical in such times if we hope to see NSBE's mission achieved. Against this rapidly shifting backdrop towards novel global challenges and dramatic social change, the National Society of Black Engineers’ (NSBE) Strategic Planning Task Force (SPTF) undertook its strategic planning exercise. Given what has always been at stake for Black communities – full access and inclusion to equitable career opportunities in the context of the STEM field’s particularly slow embrace of diversity and inclusion and America’s systemic racism - the exercise sought to build upon NSBE previous bold 2025 Goals to graduate 10,000 Black engineers/year and encourage 7th-12 graders to imagine themselves and pledge to become tomorrow’s engineers.
Game-Change 2025 a rms that Black engineers reflect one of the Black communities' sturdiest connections to the booming global STEM economy and the pay advantages and wealth-building potential associated with these fields. Given these pressing practical and social equity concerns, NSBE’s mission could not be more salient - to increase the number of culturally responsible Black Engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community. Game-Change 2025 more sharply focuses the NSBE’s attention on strengthening this Community to Career to Community Continuum and the programmatic quality and infrastructure within and between each core developmental lane or pathway. This bold but balanced move better positions NSBE to balance the never-ending teeter between innovation and stability. On one hand, NSBE can take
The Community-Career- Community-Continuum
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